


Different Verse, Same as the First

by sleepybarista



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, High School, M/M, Spark Stiles, Werewolf Derek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-29 22:35:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15738684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepybarista/pseuds/sleepybarista
Summary: Soulmates were sort of this abstract idea that Hollywood had ruined by making every sappy movie anybody could think of. It happened to twenty-five percent of the population, but Stiles never thought that it would happen to him, much less in the middle of his senior year.





	1. Chapter 1

“-ude! Dude! STILES!!!” 

Stiles finally blinked and it looked like the other guy was doing the same. Scott’s voice finally seemed to break the spell. 

“Did you just bond with that guy?” Scott asked, looking at the other man with a narrow eyed look. 

“Um, yeah,” Stiles muttered voice hoarse. After another loaded look, the other man looked like he snapped out of it, and walked toward them, crossing the street without really looking. Stiles was glad that there was no traffic, his heart beating frantically despite the assurance. When he was finally before him, they were silent. 

“Stiles,” Stiles finally greeted, his nerves ruining his first words to his bond mate. 

“What the hell is a Stiles?” he answered, with a raised eyebrow. Gosh, those brows were fierce. 

“Me. I'm a- I mean my name is Stiles,” he clarified, trying to pull himself together. It didn't help that Scott obviously looked torn between looking protective and amused. 

“Derek,” the other man reciprocated. They stared and after a few minutes, Scott cleared his throat.

“So…” Stiles began awkwardly, elbowing Scott for his subtlety. “What… what do we do now?” Derek looked just as awkward at the question and they continued to look at each other in bewilderment. 

“Give me your number,” Derek said, when Scott cleared his throat. “I can't talk right now, but if you have time tomorrow-”

“Yes!” Stiles agreed with a wince when it was too loud. He was just so relieved to get out of the weird almost dreamlike situation that he would have agreed to anything.

“Okay.” Derek looked like he was about to smile and it put something in him at ease. 

 

——

Soulmates were sort of this abstract idea that Hollywood had ruined by making every sappy movie anybody could think of. It happened to twenty-five percent of the population, but Stiles never thought that it would happen to him, much less in the middle of his senior year. 

They'd talked. Derek was twenty-three, a recent graduate and he worked with his family. He hadn't gone into detail what exactly that was, but he was a Hale and everybody knew that the Hale family was a little odd and really into nature. Stiles was just glad that his age didn't seem to put Derek off, just that they were going to go slow. God, he was gonna go on a date tonight and-

“Watch it Stilinski,” Jackson said with a glower as Stiles rubbed his forehead from the impact with Jackson’s shoulder. To this day, he considered it a cruel irony that they shared locker space in their senior year. Lydia, thankfully, was right across and usually intervened before things escalated. 

“You okay?” Danny asked, smiling when Stiles blushed from embarrassment. 

“Yeah, just didn't get enough sleep last night so…” he waved a dismissive hand in the air. God, the… whatever thing that him Danny had been heading towards was over. It was weird to see him now because whatever feelings had been building had essentially evaporated. He was still hot at least, so Stiles was glad he hadn't lost his entire spankbank material. 

“Just last night?” Lydia questioned, Jackson slinging an arm over her shoulders as she joined them. 

“Ugh, all weekend, you happy?” Stiles muttered, making a shooing motion with his hand. Yes, she'd been his crush up until sophomore year, but that didn't mean he appreciated her getting all up in his business. There was a reason him and Danny had only hooked up once and it was because once Lydia had found out, she's been determined to set them up. 

“Why?”

“Geeze, I was playing Injustice all weekend. Did you need some evidence or some witnesses or is that enough for today?” Lydia huffed with a roll of her eyes, but smiled anyway. 

Scott knew about the soulmate thing and that was enough. He didn't feel ready to just tell everyone quite yet considering he hadn't even broken the news to his dad yet. The warning bell went off, bringing Scott and Allison with grins on their faces, and they split up to their respective classes. And he did terrible all day. 

It wasn't his fault, exactly. The bond was just so new and distracting. Derek would feel annoyed or amused and Stiles would wonder what was causing those feelings. His curiosity was killing him. He just needed to know everything about him. 

“Hey since there's no practice today-”

“Sorry Danny, I gotta go,” Stiles said, shoving everything into his backpack with a sweep of his hand. Derek had texted about food and the address was on the edge of town, so it would take like 20 or 30 minutes with the after school traffic. He really didn't want to get stuck in the parking lot. “Text me later!” Stiles yelled, running out. 

“What the hell was that?” Lydia questioned, eying Stiles hasty exit with distaste. 

Danny shrugged, not sure if it was rejection or not. It was hard to tell with Stiles. 

—

They were staring at each other again. Granted, this time it wasn't awkward and overwhelming, but more of a ‘I can't believe you continue to exist’ kind of way. At least for Stiles. Derek seemed more amused by his inability to believe that they were soulmates more than anything else. 

Because once he got over the fact that he had a freaking soulmate, he had to deal with the fact that his bonded was a freaking 12 in a 1 to 10 scale of hotness. And older. 

“So where are you gonna go to college?” Derek said, turning serious. 

“Well, I got accepted into Berkeley and Irvine and couple others, but it's mostly between those two. Berkeley’s closer, but Irvine has a better criminology department, but we’ll see when the scholarships all come through,” Stiles explained, weirdly self-conscious. “I still have like, two months for the deadlines.” 

“I could-” Derek cringed, but powered through, “I could help pay…” Stiles made a face. “Or! I could go with you!” Derek blushed adorably. “Sorry, that sounds so intense, but I don't want you to make any decisions based on me. I'll do whatever you want me to, to make this… easier.” 

“I'll try, but I'm constantly thinking about you.” Stiles did a wince of his own. “God, there's no way of talking about this without sounding sappy as hell huh?” 

Derek shrugged, but looked happy at least, and that was all Stiles could ask for. 

—

 

“Hey son, you're coming with me to the Argents BBQ this Saturday,” John said, before Stiles could run upstairs.

“Aww, no! I was gonna-“

“Nope. If I have to suffer, so do you,” he said sternly, before grinning. “They have a daughter your age.” 

“Ugh, dad. That's Scott’s new love Allison. They haven't even been here a week and they're already kissing your ass?” 

“Yeah well, people who sell guns have to kiss the Sheriff’s ass. Worse, they like to hunt too.” 

“Ohh has Talia compl-” Stiles sentence died when he realized that Talia freaking Hale was basically his mother in law now. 

“Breathe, son. I thought you and Talia were okay now?” 

“We are. We were. I mean, bonding is a good thing right?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Uhhh… so I may have bonded with Derek Hale?” 

“Mieczyslaw Stilinski!” 

The sheriff hesitated for only a moment, before he pulled Stiles into a hug.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you okay?”

Derek didn't say anything, which made Stile want to panic. 

“Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell my dad right away, but I knew he was gonna freak out about it and now I'm bailing on Saturday, but he's making me go to some dumb BBQ, and you don't have to come on Sunday, if you don't want-”

“Breathe, Stiles.” Derek’s hands framed his face and Stiles was suddenly letting out a shaky breath. Derek’s fingers weren't still, going into Stiles’ hair and rubbing, while his thumb caressed his cheeks. Derek had really big hands. Baby smooth almost, and they calmed him considerably. “It's not…” Derek let out a noise of annoyance, words failing him and Stiles instinctively knew to be silent. 

“The Argents and the Hales don't get along and I'm worried they'll… do something,” Derek explained after a few moments. 

“I'm not surprised. Your mom is pretty intense about the preserve and the Argents are hunters, apparently. We’re only invited ‘cause my dads the sheriff. Which, so freakin’ dumb, ‘cause this just makes my dad more suspicious of them since they sell guns and dad thinks they're trying to kiss ass for a reason.” Stiles didn't add that his dad trusted him to snoop and not get caught. 

“How do you know my mom?” Derek questioned with a raised eyebrow. 

“Uhhh, she may have caught me looking for a- I mean investigating in the preserve. Once or twice.” 

Derek snorted and his head fell into hands. Stiles would be offended, but it was the first time that he'd seen Derek laugh and it was fucking magical. 

“Oh my god. You're the kid she constantly complained about.” Derek’s face was scrunched up in a grin and he had bunny teeth. Stiles was having heart palpitations. Was there such thing as a perfect human being? God and Derek was just sending these great vibes through the bond. His body honestly moved on it's own. 

Derek was caught off guard and he basically put his upper lip on his teeth, but as far first kisses went, Stiles couldn't say he had any regrets. Especially when Derek caught up with the program and fixed the angle, aligning their lips properly, and it got better. It got better. 

The kiss slowed down, before he pulled away, Stiles sneaking a kiss on his nose before he got too far. Glad to see he didn't hate it, even looked really happy, Stiles couldn't stop his grin even if he tried.

“Okay. Let's get food.” 

“Date? Its a date right?” Derek rolled his eyes, but didn't refute it. 

It was totally a date. 

—

Derek was so unbelievably screwed. 

His mate was a seventeen year old high school student, whose father was the Sheriff no less, and his mom had already altered his memories once. And he was going into the heart of Argent territory when he’d just had to have his older sister to get Kate Argent off his back. She hadn't been happy. 

Thankfully, Stiles seemed to have kept their bonding close to the chest; only Scott and his father. His mom said that it wouldn't be too hard to return his memories, and grumbled about it more than anything. She’s never really explained what happened, just that Stiles had figured it out like the smart ass he was, but she sounded way too fond about it. He and Laura had been away at college. Eric had been moving out and Cora had just started high school and hadn't really been involved as far he knew. 

“Honey, the Argents follow the code. Plus, they're 100% human and should be fine,” Talia said soothingly. 

“I don't know mom. That Kate chick, something about her was… well, it's not like they know Stiles is bonded to a werewolf so it should be fine. Once you guys go register though, I would definitely keep them away.” 

“You bonded with Stiles?!?” Cora exclaimed from outside before running through the door. Eric trailed in a moment after, looking sheepish. 

“Yes,” Derek grunted. He eyed his mother, unsure as to why Cora didn't already know. 

“I can't freaking believe it!” 

“Did you have a crush on him?” Laura questioned, looking gleefully evil. It was one of the benefits of coming back home. Laura had a whole new person to torture. 

“Eric, did you wanna stay for dinner?” his father asked, popping out from the kitchen, already in the midst of cooking. 

“Yeah sure, gotta hear more about Derek’s jailbait.” 

Derek groaned and blushed. Cora’s embarrassed shrieking took some of the attention away from him and he could only hope that tonight's dinner would continue to split the embarrassment between the two of them. 

—

Stiles was bored. Allison had accosted him and he didn't know her enough to manipulate her into giving him a tour of her house, especially when Chris Argent himself gave him a pointed look and said, “No boys upstairs.” 

Jesus, he was bonded, he literally couldn't even fathom the idea. Plus, bro-code. Allison was Scott’s official crush of the year and Allison was cute and all, but she was a six on the Derek scale of hotness. 

“And whose this cutie?” Stiles rose an eyebrow. Not that she was wrong or anything, but she looked seconds away from pinching his cheeks, and Stiles was not above karate chopping her hand. 

“Ah, this is Stiles, we have classes together,” Allison introduced him. “Stiles, this is my aunt Kate.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Stiles greeted with a hand shake. 

“I'm glad you're keeping my niece company. I know it sucks to be the new kid as a senior,” Kate said, pulling Allison into a side hug. 

“Allison’s awesome, so the cool kids snatched her up as soon as they could,” Stiles teased. Allison rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide her blush. 

“Ah, don't act like you're not a heartbreaker yourself,” Kate retorted. She did go for his cheek, but it was a light caress instead of the pinch he anticipated. He hadn't even been able to dodge with how swiftly she’d moved her hand. Stiles tried not to despair his karate skills. 

“I'm not one to toot my own horn,” Stiles deadpanned, pulling an imaginary rope. Kate’s smile turned into a small chuckle, before it settled into a smirk. 

“Cute. Gonna go question your dad’s grilling skills. I love how much he tries to pretend it doesn't bother him,” Kate said, slinking over to the grill. Stile’s dad was over there… probably already doing the very thing Kate said she would. Maybe now was the time to explore. 

“Where's the bathroom?” 

“It's down the hall, second door on the left- I’ll show you,” Allison explained, already heading toward the house. 

“No offense, but I'll find it myself. You're dad seems like he’ll stab me if he thinks I'm even thinking about making a move on you. Which I'm not, in case you were wondering. Not that you're not cute or anything, but I’m at a dick phase-”

“Wow. Okay, I believe you Stiles!” Allison said with a laugh. God, there were dimples and everything. She was officially upgraded to a seven on the Derek scale of hotness. Plus, anybody who laughed at his TMI ramblings were rare and to be collected like trading cards. 

“Cool. If I get lost, don't come find me. Your dad will think that it was the plan all along and I'm too young to die,” Stiles said, clutching his shirt over his heart. Allison rolled her eyes, but her father zeroed in on him entering the house. Stiles was vindicated and shooed her away from him. 

He loved it when everything came together. Still, he wouldn't be able to get away with snooping up stairs and the living room looked unnaturally domestic, kind of like the ones they used in magazines. The garage was right next to the kitchen, so he went in there instead, and he was rewarded with a wall of guns. 

Seriously?

Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were all legal, and weren't even loaded. Then again, that would've been too easy. 

There were some unpacked boxes, but opening them only showed some kitchen supplies and books. Three boxes worth of books. It was odd, but it wasn't like Stiles was able to talk. He had an overflowing amount of books in his room. And it looked like they were into myths and fairy tales too. 

Finally, he found a chest. It looked old and fancy, some French words in the front, but nothing he could understand. It sat unlocked and Stiles was sad that he brought lock-picks for no reason. His skills would get rusty without practice. 

For all it's suspicious beauty, it's contents were rather lack luster. Some dried out plants and a handgun, while obviously customized just like the chest, still perfectly legal. He had an urge to inspect further, but he'd already been in here too long, and it was an amateur mistake to leave prints behind. Without a warrant, everything was dismissible in court. 

The Argents were either innocent or a lot smarter than he thought. From the intensity of Allison’s mother, he would rather go with the latter. He was more of guilty until proven innocent kind of guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp there it is. Hopefully, you guys are enjoying my garble.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more you learn...

Despite the intensity of their initial bonding, things sort of kept a routine. 

On days that Stiles didn't stay too late for Lacrosse practice, he saw Derek. Now that the Sheriff was aware, he much preferred it if they hung out at home. It was embarrassing to essentially be chaperoned with his bonded, but apparently Derek was okay with it. They changed it up sometimes with dinner, out of town since their registry date was still two days away, and they were still mostly keeping it a secret. 

It had already been a month and all they had done was kiss. Stiles realized that the age difference was a little daunting, but he thought they'd be along a lot further… though now he knew he was in for a long “courtship”. Derek was shy and all too aware of their age gap considering his youngest sister was a grade below him. 

Which he would be formally meeting today along with the rest of the Hales since they were doing Dinner. Stiles was strangely nervous. Strange because he sort of felt like he shouldn't be. He could have sworn he’d met at least half of the Hale family when he was a sophomore, but trying to think back on it was like looking for a missing frame in a sea of pictures. He was sure it happened, but he didn't have any proof. Maybe he'd deleted the entire encounter from embarrassment. 

The thought made him even more restless. 

“Why are you so nervous?” Derek questioned. Stiles didn't even have a chance to get out of the cruiser, but Derek was already there, as if he'd been waiting for them at the window. He helped Stiles out the rest of the way while greeting the Sheriff, a hand settling on Stiles’ back. 

“I dunno, aren't you?” Derek didn't say anything, just plastered himself closer, which was an answer in itself. Nobody was waiting for them at the foyer, but Talia was at the entrance of the dining room before Stiles could be relieved about it. 

“Let's get this show on the road, yeah?” 

“Mom? I thought-”

“We decided on-”

With great confusion, Stiles watched Talia walk toward him while his dad and Derek began to protest. Of course the next thing that happened was probably the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to him. Talia Hale began to grow claws. Straight up fucking claws. Before he could do anything, but widen his eyes in surprise, she shoved those things into the back of his neck. 

It all went black. 

He probably only went out for a couple minutes because he came to with his dad shouting at Derek’s mom. 

“-delicate process and you said it’d be better to ease into!” 

“Which I would normally agree with if it were anyone, but Stiles. He’d figure out something was up and then get all worked up and I just wanted to avoid the flailing.” 

“So rude,” Stiles muttered, not quite sure what his body was doing. “It’s like you were raised by wolves.” 

“Joy. How I missed the werewolf jokes,” Talia said with a deadpan voice. It turned out that he was in Derek’s arms which wasn’t so bad considering his raging headache. Or maybe it was just rage. 

“I can’t believe you guys took away my memories,” Stiles muttered, sitting up. Derek rubbed his back and it took a bit of the sting. 

“The Nemeton was reaching out to you and Deaton didn’t have the ability to train a spark. It was the best solution we had at the time.” 

“And now?” 

“And now you’re bonded to my son and are bounded to the supernatural forever,” Talia stated. 

“That’s stupid,” Stiles muttered with a glare. “I’m a spark, I would have run into it eventually.” 

“But this way it actually gave us time to set up some preventative measures,” Talia said, handing over a necklace. “This should mask you from the Nogitsune, for a time, while we dig into a better way of training you.” 

Stiles took it, but tried to stand while he did so. Derek helped him up and he didn’t particularly feel like moving away from him. Even if he was pissed. He looked at his father and Talia, noting their serious faces. They looked ready for him to yell at them. It just angered him further, but instead of doing the obvious, he grabbed Derek’s hand and he pulled him away. They went through the back of the house and into the woods, going until he was sure that Talia couldn’t hear him. 

“I can’t believe they took away my memories,” Stiles seethed, uselessly kicking a tree. 

“I’m sure they did it with good intentions,” Derek said with a shrug. 

“No they did it to get the annoying sixteen year old out of adult business. Which, granted I am annoying, but I was always right. Then, on top of that I was a spark doing shit without supervision— it’s like they put me in time out. I would have figured it out. I would,” Stiles muttered, continuing to pace. Derek wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince; himself or Derek, but he knew that choosing a side wouldn’t help anything.

“I know this is a lot, but...” Was it selfish to say he was glad? “It makes... us, uh, easier.” 

“Is that... were you worried about me finding out?” Stiles asked, thoroughly distracted. 

“...Yeah,” Derek muttered, looking embarrassed. 

“What! Why?” Stiles whacked his own head immediately. “Duh! The whole werewolf part.” How could he had forgotten how crazy Talia got when he figured it out. “Oh dude, I think its the coolest thing ever!”

“Yeah?” Derek asked, feeling foolish. He was a twenty-three year old searching reassurance from a high school senior. 

“Seriously. So freakin’ cool.” Stiles nodded, before suddenly getting close. “Let me see your beta face.” 

Derek hesitated, but could practically smell Stiles’ anticipation and quickly gave in. Stiles immediately gasped which made Derek hunch into himself, ready for rejection, but then Stiles did something he could have never prepared himself for. 

He laughed.

Stiles laughed like he was trying hard not to, covering his mouth with one hand, and putting another onto to Derek’s face. Derek mostly froze and stared completely confused. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Stiles said, his laugh tapering off to giggles. It was both annoying and cute at the same time. Derek was torn. “It’s just—where did your eyebrows go?!?” It started off another round of giggles while Derek glowered. As if he didn’t get enough of this as a kid from Laura and Eric. 

“Wow,” Stiles muttered, finally calming down. He looked stupid, tears in his eyes and his face all red and splotchy from laughing so much. Derek tried to be annoyed, but it was hard to when this was the reaction to the werewolf reveal. His mother had scared him so much about the dangers of humans finding out and all his soulmate does is laugh about the lack of eyebrows. “I didn’t think anything would be able to make me laugh today.” Stiles sighed and Derek grabbed his hand, forcibly pulling him into a hug. 

“I think… they were scared,” Derek muttered as Stiles finally put his arms around him. “I’m not saying what they did was right, but if even half of the Nogitsune lore is accurate, then I don’t know what we would have done if it got you.” Derek sniffed him, trying to see if what he was saying was angering him. “It still could.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Stiles mumbled, pulling away. “I don’t really wanna do dinner anymore.”

“Ok.” 

—

Going into the Government Bonding Offices should’ve been an event. Stiles tried not to feel too bad, but he didn’t want their families there. His father and Talia took away his memories, Deaton roofie-spelled him into not thinking about the gaps in his memories, and the rest of the Hales stopped talking to him so that they wouldn’t trigger anything because the whole thing was so delicate. 

The problem was that Derek was being so great about everything and it was making him feel guilty. 

“Hey.” Derek grabbed Stiles and pulled him aside. Nobody was paying attention to them, so pulling them into an empty corridor wasn’t odd. “My mom is the one that likes to make these things into some huge family event. I hate making a huge fuss and I like that it’s only us, ok?”

Stiles sighed, but nodded and pulled him into a hug. “It’s because you have middle child syndrome.” 

“I will bite you.” 

“Please control yourself honey, we’ll celebrate after.” 

Derek growled and pulled him forward. They had official papers to sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me. I promise this will start making more sense... all in due time.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey.” 

Stiles turned, smiling when he saw it was Danny. “What’s up?” 

“Can we talk?” 

“Right now? What about food?” Stiles asked, waving his hands in the direction of the cafeteria. 

“I just wanna know if we’re ok? You haven’t really talked to me lately and I don’t want there to be any weirdness between us.” 

“Oh.” Stiles couldn’t even remember the last time he even talked to Danny that wasn’t in passing. “I’m so sorry dude, you’ve been the last thing on my mind.”

“As always, your apologies are the worst,” Danny said with a roll of his eyes. 

“Ugh, I just, the thing is I— totally bonded,” Stiles explained. He owed him that much, right?

Danny blinked, but remained blank face for long enough that Stiles looked around awkwardly. All he wanted to do was talk about Derek, but was that an insensitive thing to do with a hook up that almost became something more? Scott wasn’t around so he couldn’t ask him and Danny always got mad when he wasn’t sure how to be nice.

“Look, you don’t have to make up a lame story. Just say you’re not interested and it would be awkward for a little, but its not like I was in lo—”

“Wow, rude. I wouldn’t lie about being bonded dude. That would be a huge exhausting lie that would require way too many schemes. It never works in fanfiction and trying to get a Bond Certificate forged would be way too hard—wait. Not the point. The point is… I’m not lying and it’s definitely not a platonic bond and I didn’t mean to just leave you hanging like that.

“Right,” Danny sighed. “Well, lets leave it at that.” Danny awkwardly tapped Stiles on his shoulder before walking passed him. He didn’t head in the direction of the cafeteria.

“Shit,” Stiles muttered, running his hands threw his hair. 

“Well that was awkward to listen to second hand, can’t imagine what it was like in person,” Cora announced, turning the corner.

“At least I was decent enough to give it to him straight,” Stiles muttered, turning to walk away.

“Seriously?!? You know our parents made me stop talking to you,” Cora called. Stiles ignored her. It was only fair.

—

“Your sister is trying to talk to me now,” Stiles said, laying his head on the table. Derek ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair and it made him feel marginally better.

“She’s probably just trying to pick up where you left off,” Derek answered. Stiles sighed, but sat back up again. He didn’t really want to talk about it. 

“So why are you leaving me again?” Stiles questioned, squinting at him petulantly. 

“I’m documenting some peace treaties for a pack in Arizona, it will only be for a week,” Derek said again, trying not to smile at Stiles pout. 

“I just think it’s weird that you just happened to be out of town the weekend that Lydia’s having a party that I wanted you to go to,” Stiles said. 

“Even if I was here, I would not go to high school party,” Derek said. “I can meet your friends, but I will not be doing it there.” 

“I dunno, I think I could convince you,” Stiles muttered. “It’s why you’re running away.”

Derek wasn’t sure if Stiles was wrong or right, but he wasn’t willing to chance it. 

 

-

It’s not that Stiles didn’t want to yell at the top of his lungs that he had a soulmate and that he was the hottest, cutest motherfucker to walk the earth, but he wasn’t dumb and he’d gotten Derek to admit that the Argents were hunters. They had a pact, but they were wary of them being so close. Apparently his dad knew, but hadn’t gotten worried when Stiles’ snooping didn’t turn up an arsenal. 

“Cora Hale is glaring at you,” Scott said, sounding a little scared. 

“And she’s gonna keep having to... from a distance,” Stiles muttered, not even looking in her direction. 

“Dude, I think she dented the table,” Scott muttered, grabbing his inhaler. 

“It’s cool dude. The Hale’s look like they will murder you, but they’re all marshmallows. Except Peter; Peter would kill you,” Stiles said. 

“Why are you talking about the Hales?” Lydia interrupted.   
“Oh, uhh, you know, made some enemies,” Stiles said, twisting his head towards Cora’s table. She was still glaring, but blushed and looked away when Lydia looked over. Cute. 

“Why am I not surprised?” Lydia rolled her eyes, but clicked her tongue and turned back to their table. “Anyway, your in charge of picking up the kegs. Danny will help you.” Lydia pulled out a clip board, probably her to do list. Stiles winced before hissing negatively, before she could check anything off.

“Yeahhhh, I would double check with Danny on that front,” Stiles said, nonchalantly stretching his arms. 

“What did you do?” Lydia put away the clipboard and gave him a look. 

“Nothing! I just... made it clear that we were friends, you know?”

“Are you serious!” Lydia practically shrieked. Stiles ignored her because he’d already been over her meddling. He didn’t get why she was so invested in Stiles and Danny being a thing, but it got old real quick. 

“Lydia,” Scott said in his responsible voice. Lydia pursed her lips, but after a moment, sighed and flipped her hair back.

“I guess I’ll just have to move some things around… you still have to pick up the kegs though,” Lydia said after a moment. 

“Yeah, ok.”

-

“When I come back from somewhere, I expect to find you in the same condition that I left you.” Derek’s brows were furrowed and he inspected Stiles face. He had a black eye and a split lip. Derek’s hand cupped his face before sliding down to inspect for further damage. While Stiles would normally love that, it was annoying in this case. He stepped away and went into his living room. 

“The only other bruise I have is on my back because I hit a corner on the way down.” Stiles pulled up his shirt to show him and Derek put his hand on it, leeching the pain. “Babe, not to sound cocky, but you should see the other guys.”

“This wasn’t one on one?” Derek asked, surprised. “Explain.”

“Okay, so before I met you, I sort of had a thing with this guy, Danny. Except our friend kept trying to set us up, you know? Sending me texts that the gang was going to the movies and then it would just be me and him, which was like a boner killer you know? We had already hooked up before, but feelings were blugh. Anyway, totally forgot about him once I met you, obviously, and I let him know that we were just going to be friends. Things were little awkward, but it was fine. Then comes the party. It was kind of lame ‘cause you weren’t there you know, and I missed you or whatever.”

“Stiles.”

“What? I did miss you! And I was being lame, not gonna lie. I was barely there for an hour and I was getting ready to head out when Jackson came through all pissed because he’d found out about me dumping Danny so he yells at me, which is fine, but then this other dude, I kid you not, comes out of nowhere, pissed that I was apparently hooking up with Danny at all? And swung at me. Jackson actually came through and pushed him away, but the dude had friends and one of them punches Jackie, so obviously I had to punch that guy, but then the dude with the crush came through and totally sucker punched me, and it turned into this huge brawl. The thing is I saw Scotty and bless his heart, even though he was seconds away from an asthma attack, he jumped into the fray. Thats my brother you know, and—”

“Stiles.”

“Okay, okay. Long story short I accidentally short-circuited the power and set the curtains on fire.”

“The necklace is supposed to suppress your powers,” Derek muttered.

“It might have come off during everything and so when I felt like I really needed a distraction… it happened.” Stiles shrugged.

“I’m just glad no one hurt you too bad,” Derek said with a sigh, pulling him into a hug.

“I missed you,” Stiles muttered, shoving his face into Derek’s neck. The bond’s intensity came and went, but right then it was nice to feel that Derek had missed him too. Even if he didn’t say it. 

“What did your dad say?” 

Stiles didn’t know how to explain that his dad had just looked at him, full of worry and heartbreak and Stiles was still too pissed to say anything. His father had taken away all his choices and he never thought his father would ever betray him like that. “Gonna lock me in the house forever now?” Stiles had pulled away with the quip, not allowing the Sheriff to put his hands on him. How to explain that he felt like the worst kid ever, but also, somehow vindicated? Make his dad hurt like he did.

“Hey, things will get better with you dad,” Derek said, feeling the cocktail of emotions from the question. “You guys love each other too much.” Stiles didn’t answer, but he sighed and shrugged which was a better reaction than before. Derek let it go, kissing his bruises instead. Stiles’ mood slightly lifted and he tried to fight a smile as Derek continued planting kisses on his face. He couldn’t fix his relationship with his father, but he could do this much for his soulmate. 

“Okay, okay.” Stiles tried to sound irritated, but he didn’t actually try to get away. Another moment and Stiles aligned their mouths, but he winced considering his split lip. Derek smiled.

“Food.” Their plan had been dinner and a movie after all. Stiles pouted, but moved with him to the kitchen. There went the possibility of any making out. Still, he couldn’t find it in him to be disappointed. Derek was back after all.


End file.
